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The Classical Greek And Roman Education

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As middle ages came to an end the feudal system decayed, the western world embarked on a transformation that would forever alter its identity. A profound change of ideologies in art, culture and intellect sparked a revolution that dismantled medieval society and propelled European culture into the modern era. This cultural and intellectual movement began primarily in Italy and later spread to the rest of Europe. The period of innovative change is called The Renaissance. The word Renaissance originates from the French word, rebirth. The Renaissance is considered a crucial and pivotal period in Western Civilization. The cultural phenomena took hold of practically every facet of society. However, it was largely considered a time of the resurgence of the classical Greek and Roman education and wisdom which many believed were lost to the Middle Ages. Italian scholars believed the middle ages to be a dark time, a time considered a period of stagnation in which education, literature, and the arts did not progress and declined.
Humanism was the intellectual movement of the Renaissance period, in which individuals concentrated on life in the present rather than life after death. Two major works from the period of the Renaissance, at different ends of the spectrum, illustrated this new way of thinking; a self-consciousness to the here and now as opposed to the predominating theme or focus of the Middle Ages, the afterlife. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity

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